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NEWARK, N.J.—Martin Brodeur got the win, the game puck and skated off the ice at the Prudential Center to the fans chanting “We Want Marty.”

Brodeur played Game No. 1,250 of his career as a New Jersey Devil on Tuesday night, a 4-3 win over Detroit. When the day started, it was supposed to be his last, a final chance for fans to bid their three-time Stanley Cup champion hero adieu.

But no. Either the rumours weren’t true, or the trade was squashed or on hold, or the goalie icon came to his senses. No matter which way you sliced it, Brodeur remained a Devil.

So was the win a happy ending? A warm send-off? A showcase of his talents? What the Devil was going on?

“If it was (my last game) I wanted to enjoy it as much as I could,” said Brodeur. “I’m not sure if it was. I had to shut off my phone to concentrate on my game.”

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Brodeur had heard the rumours. He has talked with GM Lou Lamoriello about his future. He says he has not waived his no-trade clause. He said a contract extension is possible.

He walked a fine line after the game in talking about his situation. He said he’d always be a Devil at heart, and sounded like a guy who simply wants to play — and it doesn’t matter where.

“He (Lamoriello) knows where I stand; it’s a private matter,” said Brodeur. “It’s been a hard couple of weeks. ... I can still play this game. I just need the opportunity.

“I have the last word. I didn’t give up any of my (no-trade) status.”

The day’s drama led to New Jersey’s eighth sellout of the year and a crowd love-in for Brodeur.

“It sucks,” said 16-year-old Kevin Jones of the speculation, admitting he would be “kind of sad” if Brodeur left. Brodeur was six years into his career before Jones was born.

“He should retire a Devil,” said Cal Jones, Kevin’s brother.

As the hockey world lurches toward the trade deadline, tugging at the hearts and playing with the hopes of fans, the question in New Jersey is: what about Brodeur? He is fully identified — and credited — with taking a franchise that was seen as a joke and turning into it a Stanley Cup champion.

“I truly hope he (Brodeur) stays,” said teammate Jaromir Jagr. “But I want what’s good for him. I want to see him be happy.”

Few goalies have his resume — Patrick Roy, Jacques Plante, maybe one or two others. The four-time Vezina winner is a surefire hall of famer, though the fans believe — even if Brodeur doesn’t — that it’s over for him.

Brodeur deserves to be considered with those very special players — Mario Lemieux, Steve Yzerman — who play for one team and one team only. Fans don’t want to see him go all Brett Favre; the legendary Green Bay Packers quarterback became a running joke at the end of his fabled football career by playing for the hated rival Minnesota Vikings.

But whispers that he wants out — or wanted out — could hurt his standing.

It’s not the same as Ray Bourque engineering his way out of Boston to win a Stanley Cup with Colorado. Fans in Boston knew the Bruins weren’t anywhere close, and were rooting for the beloved Bourque in Colorado.

Brodeur has already won the Cup three times. If he did move, people would eventually get over it. Wayne Gretzky played for four teams, after all.

But Brodeur would rob himself of the chance to retire with the same dignity that the likes of Lemieux and Yzerman did, if he pursues unrestricted free agency this summer or even if — and it’s still possible — he’s traded by Wednesday’s 3 p.m. deadline.

So, in the end, it may well be better for Brodeur to play out the string in New Jersey — where he’s adored — rather than accept a backup role in some other playoff-bound city where the lasting visuals will be of the legend sitting at the end of the bench.

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